


First Christmas

by zarrati



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-30
Updated: 2014-09-30
Packaged: 2018-02-19 07:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2380307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarrati/pseuds/zarrati
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ron and Diane missing scenes</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Christmas

 

The fragrant aroma of coffee awoke Ben that chilly December morning, the absence of his fiancé beside him no great mystery. As he blinked open his eyes, he was assaulted by the sheer amount of Christmas decorations that filled his bedroom.

Correction. _Their_ bedroom.

It had only been a little over a month since their engagement and subsequent moving in together, and Ben was still getting used to everything. _Their_ room, _their_ bathroom, _their_ kitchen, _their_ house.

It had only been a month, and he already loved every minute of it.

Moving his eyes around their room at the various decorations, Ben couldn't help the tired smile that graced his lips, Leslie's festive touch evident everywhere that he looked.

For as long as he could remember, Christmas wasn't something that Ben got excited about. His childhood memories, while filled with their own happiness and cheer, were also tainted by seething arguments between his parents and later, separate celebrations spent at each parent's home, being forced to listen as one bad mouthed the other.

As an adult, his schedule left little time for celebrating, and he was rarely at his apartment in Indianapolis long enough to warrant decorations or even a tree most years.

Yes, he would sometimes go back and visit his family for the holidays, but even those trips were few and far between. For the most part, Christmas was just another day of the year.

But then he came to Pawnee and met Leslie Knope, a woman who celebrated every holiday, no matter how small, with just as much enthusiasm as the last. She loved holidays so much that she even made up ones for almost every possible occasion. If you didn't believe him, Ben had a calendar to prove it.

So now here they were, celebrating their first Christmas in their new home together. Leslie probably went a little overboard with the decorating, insisting that their first Christmas there be as special and memorable as possible, but her genuine excitement prevented Ben from even contemplating an objection.

Ben forced himself out of bed, hissing slightly as his feet made contact with the cold hardwood before putting on his house shoes.

As he padded his way downstairs and through their winter wonderland of a living room, he could hear Leslie puttering around in the kitchen, Ben making his way over to grab some coffee.

He definitely did not expect to find Leslie standing with her back to him clad in a green turtle neck and bright red jumper/pseudo elf costume with matching Santa hat.

How was it that even in that outfit, Ben found her so irresistible?

He silently made his way across the room and wrapped his arms around her middle, pulling Leslie against his chest as he whispered in her ear.

"If you keep wearing outfits like that, I'll end up doing some things to get me on Santa's naughty list," he told her before placing a warm kiss into her neck.

He felt Leslie shake with laughter before turning around in his arms and lacing her fingers behind his neck.

"Hmmm, don't tempt me," she smiled before giving Ben a proper good morning kiss.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked once she pulled away, her arms still encircling his neck as her fingers played with his unbrushed hair.

"I did. What about you? When did you wake up?"

"Oh, I've only been up since 4:30. I just had to finish the costume and put the finishing touches on all of the gifts for the department."

"Sometimes I think you really are one of Santa's elves," he marveled while shaking his head. "Hey, so tonight is the Gergich's Christmas Party, right?"

Leslie's face fell just slightly, but Ben could tell something was up. "Wait a minute, what was that face for?"

"Well, I just found out that Ron got nominated for a woodworking award! Isn't that great? There's a whole awards ceremony and everything," she said excitedly, but Ben could tell that she was just stalling some not-so-great news.

"Okay," he drawled skeptically, looking at her with narrowed eyes as he waited for her to finish.

"And as his self appointed emotional guardian, I feel that it is my duty to accompany him. He can't go to something this important by himself. He needs someone there to support him."

"I still don't see where this is going..."

"Well, the ceremony is tonight, so I can't go to the Gergich's-"

Ben's face light up slightly, hoping that this meant that he was no longer obligated to attend the party either. He wasn't too keen on going to a Jerry Gergich party to begin with, but Leslie insisted. His good mood, however, was short lived.

"-But we RSVP'd already so you still have to go," she said with an apologetic grimace at his fallen features.

"Oh, come on, Les, do I have to? You were the one who wanted to go," he whined, Leslie trying to suppress her smile at his childlike behavior.

"Oh, stop being such a baby. It's the polite thing to do, and he's your friend, too," she said, purposely ignoring his dubious expression.

"Man, I don't want to go to Jerry's house alone."

"Well, Ann will be there. Hey," she exclaimed as an idea struck her, "why don't you see if Chris is free tonight. You two really haven't seen too much of each other lately, and I know he would love to spend some time with you," she looked up at him, her eyes both pleading and encouraging.

Ben looked at her skeptically but eventually ceded.

"Yeah, that's true. It has been a while since we spent any time together." He let out a deep breath and tightened his hold on her waist. "Okay, I'll see if he's free tonight. It'll be good to catch up, I guess."

"It will be, believe me. You two have been friends for a long time. It's a shame that you haven't been able to really see each other since you got back."

A sly smile crossed his lips as he dropped his nose to nuzzle her ear. "Well, I have been a bit busy lately," he breathed, his lips playfully nipping at her ear and neck.

"That's no excuse," she chastised, trying to not show how his actions were affecting her. "You shouldn't let romantic relationships come between your other friendships. Just talk to him and spend some time with him tonight at Jerry's. They usually have a great party."

"Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"I'm serious. Gail always does an amazing job. You'll enjoy yourself, trust me."

"Alright, but if I don't, you'll have to make it up to me."

"Okay," she laughed, "it's a deal. Now, this elf needs to get herself to work and spread some holiday cheer," she said, releasing him with a pinch to his backside. "If I don't see you before tonight, have fun."

"You, too. Love you," he said before giving her a lingering kiss.

"Love you, too," she smiled up at him before giving him another quick peck on the lips and turning to leave, Ben watching her ass in that costume with every step that she took.

~*~*~*~*~

Ben was a wreck. It had been hours since he last heard from Leslie and even that text was ominous enough.

_Tammy 2 showed up to start trouble. Gonna try and keep her away. Love you!_

Any attempt to contact her after that went unanswered, and Ben started to fear the worst, especially once the clock struck 3:00 AM. Of course, Ron didn't believe in cell phones, or any form of communicating with him of any kind, so he was a lost cause.

Ben had exhausted every resource that he could, calling Ann and everyone at the Parks department, but no luck. No one had heard from her.

At around four that morning, he finally received a call from Ron saying that Leslie had taken his car and driven off with Tammy; neither woman nor his car were anywhere to be found.

This did little to help Ben's already panicked mind, his legs tired from pacing, but his body refused to sit still.

The sun was now coming up and Ben hadn't slept a wink, not that he could have even if he wanted to. His heart was pounding and his mind was racing, every possible horrible scenario running through his mind as to what kind of fate could have befallen Leslie at the hands of that crazed librarian.

Realistically, he knew that Tammy was crazy, but not homicidal or anything, right? Oh, God only knows what's happened. All he could do was wait, and he hoped that he heard from her before the time came to file a missing persons report.

He simply sat in his couch with his head in his hands, his knees bouncing up and down at an almost manic rate.

The Christmas decorations that were once so festive and cheerful did nothing but mock him now, a painful reminder that his fiancé was somewhere out there with a psychotic, sex -crazed maniac.

He remembered back to when they first started putting up the decorations. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and they had only recently finished moving and unpacking everything into the new house.

Thanksgiving had been a relatively small event considering Leslie's usual fare, only Ann and Marlene staying the entire day with random Parks employees stopping by throughout the evening.

Ben had done a lot of the unpacking, so he knew the sheer volume of holiday decorations that they had, but he foolishly assumed that they wouldn't start decorating until at least December.

He was in for a not so pleasant surprise come Friday morning when Leslie slowly kissed him awake at 4:00 AM. At first,  Ben thought this was going to lead to something much more enjoyable, until he started reciprocating, and Leslie urged him to wake up.

"Ben wake up. We have so much to do today," she cried as she gently shook him.

"I thought you said we weren't gonna do black Friday shopping," he slurred, his voice almost completely muffled by his pillow.

"We're not, silly. It's the day after Thanksgiving, so that means it's time for Christmas decorating!" she replied eagerly, her body practically bouncing with anticipation.

"Ugh, sweetheart," he groaned into the mattress, "It's four in the morning on a day off. We shouldn't be up this early unless it's to do something more fun," he said as he grabbed her and pulled her down onto the bed next to him, his face burying into her neck.

"No, Ben," she laughed, half heartedly struggling against him as his mouth continued to devour the flesh of her neck.

"We're already running behind schedule. I wanted to be up and ready to set up the decorations by four, so we're already at least thirty minutes behind."

"So, another thirty won't set us back all that much considering, right?" he questioned suggestively, his hand beginning to roam over Leslie's body.

He could tell that she was just about to give in before another wave of resolve struck her, and she sat herself up quickly, Ben momentarily kissing the air.

"Ben, I'm serious," she whined, her face turning more stern. "It used to take me hours to set everything up at my old house, and it wasn't nearly this size. Plus, this is our first Christmas together in our new home. I want it to be special."

She was looking down at him with her pleading eyes and Ben knew that he was a goner, having been unable to say no to those eyes practically since he first came to Pawnee.

Releasing a sigh of resignation, Ben agreed.

"But on one condition," he stated seriously. "We spend the next ten minutes making out with each other. You know, to get us in the Christmas spirit."

"Well, if it's in the spirit of Christmas..."

Looking back on it, that day had been one of the best that Ben could remember. He always viewed decorating as a boring task, but of course, Leslie made it fun. They laughed nonstop as they struggled to untie knotted strings of lights and set up little Christmas villages, and they snuck kisses as they strategically placed mistletoe throughout the house.

Over twelve exhausting hours later, the pair collapsed onto their couch, fully taking in their transformed home.

"Wow, it really does look fantastic," Ben marveled as he glanced around. "You're amazing, Leslie. This is great."

Cuddling into his side, Leslie smiled proudly. "It is, isn't it? Thank you for all of your help. I didn't work alone, you know," she giggled with a poke into his side, Ben making a faux look of pain.

"This is going to be the best Christmas ever," he said looking deeply into her eyes, his finger gently tucking a loose curl behind her ear.

"It will be, and then each one will get better year after year."

"Now all we need is the tree," he added whilst looking to the empty corner of the room, the dozens of boxes of tinsel, lights, and tree ornaments sitting there as if awaiting their purpose.

Suddenly, Leslie jerked up, her eyes wild and excited. "Oh, that's what we're going to start doing tomorrow. It might be a several day process because we have to go to all of the different Christmas tree lots and search around because we can't just buy any old tree. It needs to be perfect and meet all of the requirements laid out in my Christmas Tree Buying Guide. I'll go get it. The binder is upstairs."

Just as she was about to lift herself off of the couch, Ben grasped her around the waist and pulled her back down, maneuvering them so that she was flush against the couch as Ben hovered over her, his lips mere inches from hers.

"Leslie, as much as I love Christmas, I don't want to hear another word about trees, or decorations, or binders for the rest of the day. I just want to sit here with you and enjoy everything that we did today, okay?"

Leslie's eyes softened, and she simply nodded up at him, the proximity of his lips now serving as a much needed distraction from the flurry of thoughts that ran through her head about their Christmas tree. In response to his smile, Leslie raised her head and just barely grazed her lips against Ben's, who eagerly returned the gesture, their kiss gradually building into an old fashioned necking session.

They eventually ended up making love right there on the couch, under the soft glow of the Christmas lights.

Ben was pulled from his memory by the shrill ring of his cell phone, immediately answering it before the second ring.

"Hello?" he answered quickly, his voice on edge and his body shaking.

"Hello, is this Ben Wyatt?" a stern voice asked on the other end of the line.

"Yes, yes it is."

"Mr. Wyatt, this is Officer Skorggel with the Pawnee Police Department. Are we to understand that you are engaged to Ms. Leslie Knope?"

"Yes! Oh, my God, is she alright? Where is she? What happened?" he said frantically, already standing up and putting his coat on to leave.

"Calm down, sir, everything is fine. Ms Knope had a little run in with a Ms. Tammy Swanson, and we just had to take her down to the station to get her statement. She is a little shaken up, but she'll be fine. We just need you to come on down and pick her up."

"Yes, of course, I'll be down there as fast as I can. I mean, uh, of course I won't break any speeding laws or anything. I'll be strictly adhering to the traffic laws and safety codes, so don't worry about having to pull me over. I mean-"

"Oh, yeah, Ben Wyatt, I remember you now. Just get down here."

"Okay-" he started to say but soon realized that the line had already gone dead. Grabbing his keys, Ben rushed through the door and went to bring his fiancé back home.

After several painfully awkward interactions at the police station, Ben was finally able to take Leslie home, her hair and clothes completely disheveled. Leslie was silent the entire car ride back, her eyes staring blankly out of the window despite Ben's constant grip on her hand. He shot her several worried glances but knew that she would open up to him when she was ready.

But first on the agenda: a nice, warm bath, because as much as he loved her, she smelled horrible right now.

Ben gently lead her inside of the house, removing her tattered coat and sitting with her on the couch, immediately enveloping her in a tight hug. Her arms circled around his waist and held onto him with all of their might, Leslie pressing her face as deep into Ben's chest as she possibly could.

At that moment, Ben didn't care that she smelled like a dumpster, or that she had bits of leaves and garbage in her hair. All that mattered was that she was safe and in his arms.

He pressed several soft kisses into her hair and rubbed his hands soothingly over her body.

"You okay?" he asked gently after a few moments, her only response being a slight nod of affirmation. "What happened, honey? The police really didn't tell me anything. I was so worried about you," he said, his voice cracking slightly as he buried his face into her garbage streaked curls.

She turned her head slightly so that her cheek was resting against him, her face no longer obscured by Ben's clothes.

"I, uh, was at the award ceremony with Ron and Diane when Tammy showed up and started causing problems. Diane got upset and left so I told Ron that I would handle Tammy while he went after her. I had a few hours to make sure that Tammy wouldn't try to get Ron back. So, I took Ron's car and drove around town to kill time, but she fought back. We ended up fighting in a dumpster for the keys, I had to jump into a moving car, Tammy chased me around the floor of the Woodworking Awards with an axe, and then somehow I ended up locked in the trunk of Ron's car. I don't really remember much after that happened."

Ben's eyes bulged in shock at her story, tightening his hold on her with every horrific encounter with Tammy that she described.

"Holy shit, Leslie. I don't even know what to say to that. I'm just so happy that you're okay. God knows what that bitch could have done to you, and I know how you feel about that word, but I'm sorry, she really is a bitch."

"Yeah, she really is," she agreed with a nod of her head, the pair falling into another comfortable silence.

"She left because of me, you know," Leslie said a few minutes later.

"Hmm? Who left?"

"Diane. She left because of me, not Tammy. She was jealous of our relationship."

"What? That's crazy. You are _definitely_ not his type."

"What is it with people saying I'm not _his_ type?" she said with an exasperated sigh. "What about him not being my type-oh never mind. Anyway, apparently Diane was kind of jealous because Ron and I are such close friends, and she feels like she will never get there with him. I mean, it took me years to know that much about him, but I can still see why she would feel threatened. I think she's really right for him, and all he needs to do is open himself up to her."

"That is very true," Ben agreed, his hands moving to run through his fiancé's hair.

"Ben?"

"Hmm?"

"That got me thinking. I tend to be very close and affectionate with a lot of people. Does it ever make you feel jealous or insecure? Because, believe me, that is the _last_ thing that I want to do." She peered up at him for the first time that day, her gaze pensive and worried.

Ben simply smiled down at her, touched by her thoughtfulness. "Honey, you are a very loving, giving, and affectionate person. Quite frankly, you are probably the greatest friend anyone could ask for. You are always so thoughtful and remember every tiny detail of your friend's lives. You're supportive and just genuinely care about everyone that you meet. Sweetheart, you held off Tammy Swanson so that Ron could make up with Diane."

He moved to cup her face in his hands and tilt her eyes towards his, his thumbs lovingly brushing against her cheeks.

"So, to answer your question, no, it doesn't upset me. I know that's how you are, and it's one of the many wonderful things about you that I fell in love with. That's what makes you so special. Yes, sometimes I might momentarily get frustrated when you have a week filled with Ann activities, or ditch me and a Christmas party to go with Ron to a woodworking awards ceremony, but at the end of the day, all that matters to me is that I'm the one you come home to. I'm the one that you chose to fall in love with, I'm the one who gets to hold you every night, and I'm the one that you want to spend the rest of your life with. I get to spend forever with the most amazing woman on the planet, so it's only fair that I not get upset when you share yourself with others. They are lucky to have you as a friend."

"I love you, so much," she whispered as tears began to well up in her eyes, moving up to capture his lips with hers.

"I love you, too," he responded once they broke apart, his forehead resting against hers. Suddenly, he got another whiff of the stench emanating from her. "And as much as I love you, you really smell bad right now. How about I run you a hot bath?"

"Will you join me?" she asked innocently, her desire to be near him transcending far beyond any sexual desire. After a night spent locked in a trunk, all she wanted to do was soak in a nice, hot bath in the arms of the man that she loved.

Ben assisted her off of the couch, Leslie grimacing as the movement exacerbated her already sore muscles. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and walked with her slowly towards the stairs.

With one last look at their decorative living room and their gorgeous Christmas tree light in the corner, Ben smiled. After a horrible, stress filled night, he finally had his fiancé back in his arms, and they were on their way to take a bath in _their_ bathtub in _their_ bathroom in _their_ home.  
  
Placing a gentle kiss to the side of Leslie's head as they ascended the stairs, Ben thought once again about how lucky he was. This really was going to be the best Christmas he ever had, and he couldn’t wait for them to get better year after year, with Leslie by his side.


End file.
